Ecclestone Bids for Saab

I know that seems like a `National Enquirer' headline on par with `Elvis found on the Moon', but Bernie Ecclestone, the F1 supremo, has teamed up with Genii Capital to put in a bid for the foundering Swedish automaker.

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Estimated by Forbes magazine to have a $3.7bn family fortune the 79-year-old is reported to have told Bloomberg, "It's a good brand that has probably been neglected by the current owners. We don't own it yet, so let's see what happens."

His partners are Genii Capital, the Luxembourg-based private equity firm that recently bought a `large' stake in the Renault F1 team.

Commenting on the bid, Genii is reported as saying "Saab has tremendous brand value in a number of key automotive markets, as well as an innovative image". The privately held firm said that with an "adequate and short time frame" for a bid, it would "aggressively work towards a successful closing of the transaction with all the relevant stakeholders of the company".

This eleventh hour bid came as Dutch supercar builder, Spyker made a revised offer to GM. Victor Muller, CEO of Spyker Cars said: "We have continued a constructive dialogue with GM over the acquisition of Saab...we believe the Saab brand has lots of potential and would be keen to close a deal as quickly as possible."

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